The invention relates to a dosage element for a ware washing machine and to a method of manufacture thereof.
Ware washing machines, such as automatic clothes washing and dishwashing machines, typically utilise detergents and other additives in solid, liquid or powder form. These substances are either administered directly into the machine, or dispensed via a tray or a dedicated compartment system to be added to the washing area at the start of, or during, a washing cycle.
Often, the required detergents/additives are administered as a compound tablet comprising a plurality of active ingredients. These may be kept separate for reasons of incompatibility. Alternatively or additionally they may be kept separate so that they may be activated at different points during a washing cycle or rinsing cycle. This activation at a particular point may be achieved by including time and/or temperature dependent released elements within the composition. One technique involves the coating or encasing of individual active components of the compound tablet within a water soluble polymer or gel of given properties/thickness to provide a time delayed and/or temperature dependent exposure to the component within so that it is exposed to the wash liquor within the ware washing machine at the desired point in a cycle.
In compound dosage elements of the type described above, individual active components may be in any state such as a solid, particulate or liquid form.
With the need to accommodate perhaps three or four active components within a single convenient dosage element, comes the complication of isolating each component from its neighbour and providing the dosage form within an overall compact package. These issues lead to complications within the manufacturing process and an increase in the costs of production. Accordingly, it is one aim of preferred embodiments of the present invention to provide a relatively simple dosage element formation and uncomplicated method of construction.
Consumers are becoming increasingly reluctant to handle detergent compositions directly as there are perceived health/hygiene issues to doing so. With this in mind, it is desired to provide a barrier between the hand of the consumer and the ingredients of the dosage element and to reduce the risks of inadvertent exposure of the consumer to active ingredients of the dosage elements.